Northstar Vale Brick and mortar as thick as scripture

On a good day she could make it from the middle of the territory to the border in an hour, maybe. If she'd gotten the right amount of sleep, hadn't eaten too much or too little, didn't feel like stopping every few feet to urinate, and could focus her mind long enough, it wouldn't take any time at all.

Today was not a good day.

When the howl rang out Ibis was on her third bathroom break in as many hours, trying and failing to squat and pee a few dozen feet from where she'd struggled to find sleep. She was cranky (which was a bit abnormal for her) and tired (which had actually become her norm). The call was specific in that it called for Ibis by name, and came from one of the ridges bordering the vale; she was currently squatting somewhere in the middle of the territory, and with a huff, oriented herself on an intercept course.

Ibis did not know what a blimp was, but had she been human, she'd find herself easily comparable. Her belly had swollen to the point that she was uncomfortable no matter what position she placed herself in, and half the time she couldn't even see where her paws were landing. The extra weight caused her to huff and puff before she'd even reached the smallest of the hills, and by the time she'd crested one batch of heavily forested lumps, she wanted to quit. Gravity was not her friend.

It would take her much longer than normal to reach the blossom grove, giving the gathered wolves plenty of time to talk among themselves. The moments would stretch on and go stale, all the while Ibis toiled against the slopes of the mountain range, feeling like one wrong step would send her tumbling aaaaaalllllll the way back down again. Whatever she was being summoned for wasn't worth the possible damage to her unborn, so she took her time where it mattered: pausing before particularly dangerous pathways, or lingering over small puddles to catch her breath and slake her thirst, as she needed.

When she arrived she looked terrible. The breaths wheezed out of her as if she were a cheap plastic whoopie cushion or something. There was a scowl on her face, and her mouth was hinged in to a perpetually open gape. She caught sight of the gathered wolves from afar and did not pick up her pace; rather, she was liesurely as she came upon them, hoping to gather her wits by the time they noticed her.

The queen recognized Vespera and gave her a once-over with her eyes, then the same to Yuudai; but she didn't know the boy, so her gaze lingered there. A moment later she'd gathered enough breath to speak, although her tone was firm and words somewhat clipped, almost impatient: Are you seeking refuge among us? That much she had presumed—otherwise they'd summoned a hormonal teenaged mother for nothing.